limited can mean 100 or 500 or more
it probably has a tray case
is probably bound in something like leather, or nicer
is probably signed by chuck, and maybe any contributing artists
at that weight, maybe it is metal bound, which would be cool

i haven't found any more info on the net, but i'll keep looking
$150 isn't ridiculous, but for chuck it is a little high

i just bought a $300 signed book by stephen king, that is selling on ebay for $400-450
that's about the most i've spent - i bought books (anthologies) signed by multiple authors for $35 and $75 that now sell for $300 and $450

I asked my "special source" why the limited edition is so expensive, she works for a different division of the parent corp of Doubleday, so she did not have access to much more specific info. She said that the extra .25 lb could be a slipcase, traycase, or clamshell which sometimes come with a limited edition, like a rigid sleeve that the whole book slides into. She said other than that it's probably basically the same as the hard cover, but they are "numbered" like art prints, and there are only a limited number of them printed, which is what makes them desireable for collectors, sometimes they are signed by the author. The page with the publication info on the opposite of the title page should be different and say that it is a "Limited Edition." Unlike the standard hardcover or trade paperback, no additional "runs" of the Limited Edition will ever be printed.

a nice slip case would be a bit exciting to me. made out of scrap demolition derby cars would be even better.
now that the holiday is over i'll email the randomhouse rep i know and see if he's got any info. unfortunately he's one of those guys who will either get back to you tomorrow or in six months. you never know.

as a big stephen king collector, there have been some FANTASTIC signed/limited books by him over the years - firststarter was made out of asbestos and sells for $10,000 - there was a regulators that has "bullets" coming out of the book, lots of cool shapes and sizes, leathers and embossings, a metal "my pretty pony" with a digital countdown clock, you name it - i'll post some images, but the $150 for chuck may not be bad, and to my knowledge is the FIRST signed/limited he's done, which should make it worth even more

those king books are gorgeous. especially the 1st and 3rd you have pictured.
i love artistic presentations like that. Hill House Publishers puts out some beautiful special editions. hand bound and slip covered. they've done all of Neil Gaiman's books. check out their website. [url]http://www.hillhousepublishers.com[/url]

cdog - everyone has their different interest - i know guys who pay big buck for imported music, or designer clothing, or special wine, booze or cheese - and no, don't buy one of a kind s/l books of shit, i buy the books that i like, so having a special edition of that book makes me happy, but so does taking a good shit, so who knows, i'm not going to re-state what i already did here - if you don't get it or dig it, then go haunt another thread, brother :sgrin:

DM-that brown leather dead zone is only $40 from easton press, the cujo is a LOT

true, NP - that is messed up

and i did pull the trigger on the $150 Rant directly from Random House - it is his FIRST s/l

one more reason i collect: i've been collecting King since high school, and now my collection is worth about $13,000 (it probably cost me about half that to buy over the years) and i may sell it to help start the business of my dreams - i can always buy them back later when i'm rich and happy

here are stephen king's thoughts on limited editions, thought you all might find it interesting, since we were talking about it:

Lilja: Speaking of publishing, it seems less and less of your books have been released in limited editions now. Is that something you have done deliberately?

Stephen King: They are releasing Secretary of Dreams now and Frank Darabont is really high on the idea of doing a limited edition of The Mist. I don’t like them, I don’t like them. I think they are books for rich people and they’re elitist and the whole idea of limiteds… there’s something wrong with it, you know. The idea that people want a book that they can kind of drool over or masturbate on, I don’t know what it is they want with these things but it’s like they get this book and it’s this beautiful thing and they go like, “Don’t touch it, don’t… oh God it’s worth a thousand dollars, he signed it” and all this and my idea of a book that I like is when someone comes up to me at an autographing and you got this old beat-to-shit copy of The Stand and they say, “I’m sorry it looks this way” and I go like, “I’m not”. It means a lot of people have read it and enjoyed it.

Lilja: But often they look very good, the limiteds.

Stephen King: Well, they do but… on the other hand my mother used to say, “Handsome is as handsome does”.

Lilja: That’s true…

Stephen King: A thing is better looking when it’s useful and… you know something you just put up on the shelf to just look at it. Isn’t that weird?

I mean…the worst one in a way and I don’t…this guy is gonna read this and be so bummed. This guy Jared Walters did Salem’s Lot in a limited. He basically fucking wore me down because he would come back every six months or so and say, “Please, please, please, please” and I’m very vulnerable to that if people, I mean, if he’d come to me and said that he wanted to do a Dollar Baby I would say, “Yes” immediately but this guy wants to do this big huge book with this, I don’t know, incredible binding done in some endangered species or something and finally the books come out and people like Frank Darabont and other collectors just loved that book and he wants to do The Shining next and so far I’ve just told him, “No”. Because it’d be another book like Salem’s Lot. It’ll weigh twenty pounds, and people will put it on their shelf and look at it and they won’t actually read it.

Lilja: But I have read that book and it was interesting to get a chance to read the parts that wasn’t in the first edition.

Stephen King: Yeah, I know that but on the other hand if someone had suggested to me, “Why don’t you put that up on the net, the stuff that wasn’t in the first edition?” I would have done that. And then people could have gotten it for free.

It would be the same words. It just wouldn’t be in that fancy thing. It’s like… I don’t know how to say this. It’s like if you see some woman and you’re really hot for her, you know. I mean you got to say to yourself is it the woman I’m hot for or is it just because she’s wearing a certain expensive dress? I don’t know…

that's very interesting... thanks for the quotes, wickerkat.
i both agree and disagree with him. in idea he is certainly correct. but i'm a whore for a book that's beautifully bound (i bind books myself). they just feel different in the hand. you know?

that's very interesting... thanks for the quotes, wickerkat.
i both agree and disagree with him. in idea he is certainly correct. but i'm a whore for a book that's beautifully bound (i bind books myself). they just feel different in the hand. you know?

i hear you - they just don't make all the leatherbound books like they used to, all cloth and whatnot - thought the interview was interesting, he really hates the limiteds, although he must be one of the most collected authors out there

It's weird, still no more details on the Rant limited ed, she says she can tell me even what kind of paper it's printed on and what inks were used, but there's still no image in the database and no more info about the treatment.

Suggestion: If you're going to spend an extra $100 bucks, you might as well go out and buy the first run of "Rant" that is out now, in limited supply. I picked one up the other day and I must say that it's better spending the extra dough on it now instead of waiting for the limited edition. Really, who cares about limited edition? The first print uncorrected proofs are the ones that will be the real collector's items. Or of course, you can just wait until May and buy a copy of "Rant" for a mere $25.00ish bucks.

i think the ARCs are more for the people that [i]may[/i] want to sell them later and cash in
these limited edition ones make me think they're more for the fancy wood-paneled library's with leather sofas in them and maybe a billiard table in the center of the room

Suggestion: If you're going to spend an extra $100 bucks, you might as well go out and buy the first run of "Rant" that is out now, in limited supply. I picked one up the other day and I must say that it's better spending the extra dough on it now instead of waiting for the limited edition. Really, who cares about limited edition? The first print uncorrected proofs are the ones that will be the real collector's items. Or of course, you can just wait until May and buy a copy of "Rant" for a mere $25.00ish bucks.

i find it sad that anyone would sell a galley copy, especially before the release of the book. the publisher sends them out FOR FREE. they are meant for booksellers and critics and the like because it's much easier to sell a book if you know what it's all about. if you can get your hands on a galley because you're a bookseller or have a friend who is one, that's great. but to spend $100 + dollars on one is just ridiculous.

My source tells me because they are putting out a signed limited, they are anticipating that this book is going to be a good seller. The flip side of that is that she says that it's probably going to be more difficult than usual to get an ARC.

I have not sold many books, but I have sold a few of them here and there and from what I have sold, I can tell you that the uncorrected proofs generally sell for twice as much as the 1/1sts (which is essentially what the limited edition will be. Just a fancy version of a 1/1).

For example, I had two uncorrected proofs of "Fight Club". I kept one and sold the other for $1,157 (to be exact). I also sold my 1/1 of "Fight Club". It sold for $350.00 (it was a signed version that was in mint condition).

So, I don't see how making a $50-$100 investment on an uncorrected proof now is a bad idea, unless I suppose you have no intentions of ever cashing in on it. In that case, I guess you should just go with the limited edition book, which not only costs more but will most likely will be worth less to book collector's than an uncorrected proof later on. The upside is that it will look a lot fancier sitting on your bookshelf than a plain-looking proof. I'm not saying it's not a worthy investment, and anyone who can pre-order one now should go ahead and do it. I'm just saying that in my experience, the uncorrected proofs are worth a lot more after they have aged a bit.

Obviously, if you can get an uncorrected proof for free because you have some kind of sweet deal, then anyone who spends money on one will look like an asshole. I don't really mind looking like an asshole now for spending $75 on an uncorrected proof of "Rant," and cashing it in for hundreds later on. I have spent a lot of time (and money) building my Chuck library, and I have nearly every version of every novel he has written that has been released in the United States (and the UK), and at this point I know which ones are worth which amount of money, so if you're interested in worth, then as I said, go with an uncorrected proof. Otherwise, a limited edition is still a good idea, and I will indeed be pre-ordering one as well.

From $40-$100. Keep in mind that ARCs are not worth nearly as much as uncorrected proofs. An uncorrected proof is the first bound version of a book, and generally will still have some punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors. They also generally don't feature the final cover art of a book. ARCs are printed before the final version of the book comes out. They almost always feature the final cover art, and are pretty heavily distributed to bookstores to be used for promotion of the book. The most valuable version of any book you can own is called a galley proof, and they nearly never make it to the collector's market. It's the first version of a book that's printed after the manuscript is edited. The only people that receive copies of a galley proof are people who will be editing it.

You can make your ARC worth more if you keep it in mint condition and get it signed by Palahniuk. People always pay more for signed copies. "Haunted" may not be worth much now, but in ten years or so your ARC could be worth $500-$1,000, just as "Fight Club" ARCs are now.

Also, to compare prices between ARCs and Uncorrected Proofs...

The ARC of "Invisible Monsters" is worth around $80-$100. The uncorrected proof is worth from $150-$300 depending on the condition of the proof and again, whether or not it's signed by Palahniuk.

By the way, Drinking Mercury, I would love to pay only $100 for a galley proof. Seeing as how I'd probably have to make my way to an editor to get one, I don't see that happening any time soon. If you know someone who actually does receive galley proofs, perhaps you could hook me up? :cool:

Not as far as I know. ARCs are sent out pretty close to the release of a book so that book distributors and critics can read it and pass it around to get the word of mouth going. Uncorrected proofs are distributed on a wider basis than galley proofs, so that there is a greater chance of catching any remaining errors in the text. I suppose it's possible that some book distributors are involved in this process, but I'm fairly certain they only receive ARCs.

all i know is this whole situation reminds me of the line "A fool and his money are soon parted"

Just be thankful that there are enough fools out there to part with their money when you scam them out of thousands of dollars by marking up "rare and exceptional items" on eBay.

I once bought an ARC of "Diary" for $10.00. I logged into eBay, started the bidding at $1.00 and then typed in bold, colorful font: "RARE! EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY! DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONE-TIME DEAL!". Well, it ended up going for $76.78 after an intense sniping session by two users whose IDs both not-so-surprisingly included the word "gurl".

this is all getting very muddled when it is acutally very simple. terminology-wise.

the words galley, advanced reading copy, and uncorrected proof are for the most part, interchangeable terms. once in a long while you will get an "advanced reading copy" that is the book all hard-bound and absolutely no different than if you bought it off the shelf, execpt that the publisher sends it to you for free. these are not what we are talking about here.
"galleys" or "uncorrected proofs" are usually soft-bound and sometimes don't have cover art or have art that is different than the finished book. they usually have information on the back about how the publisher plans to promote the title.
for example, my galley of Haunted says "bound galley - not for sale - this is an uncorrected proof, please note that any quotes for reviews must be checked against the finished book..." blah blah etc.
i am a bookseller and we get galleys in the mail everyday (usually for books no one cares about). it's pretty much the ONLY perk to being a bookseller: galleys of your favorite authors. or galleys that you hope someday are going to be worth enough money to get you out of your shit job. like my uncorrected copy of The DaVinci Code.
i love galleys because they are rare (i'm on pins and needles for rant to arrive hopefully this week). but unless my cats were starving, i could never sell one of my palahniuk galleys.

"galleys" or "uncorrected proofs" are usually soft-bound and sometimes don't have cover art or have art that is different than the finished book. they usually have information on the back about how the publisher plans to promote the title.
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By the way, Drinking Mercury, I would love to pay only $100 for a galley proof. Seeing as how I'd probably have to make my way to an editor to get one, I don't see that happening any time soon. If you know someone who actually does receive galley proofs, perhaps you could hook me up? :cool:

actually all you have to do is go find a job in a bookstore (but if you pay rent i don't recommend it). then call the publicity department at Double Day. grab some company letter head and a fax machine and ... there you go. it should be in you mailbox in a few weeks.

actually all you have to do is go find a job in a bookstore (but if you pay rent i don't recommend it). then call the publicity department at Double Day. grab some company letter head and a fax machine and ... there you go. it should be in you mailbox in a few weeks.

So, you're telling me that the editors, after they are done with the galley proofs, sell them off or give them away? Wow. Never heard of this but it would be excellent if it's true. Too bad I would never work at a bookstore. Too many emo kiddies to deal with at my local Borders.

I think you're mistaken though about the difference between the galley proof and the uncorrected proof. The galley proof is NOT bound. It is the first version of a book that comes out after the manuscript is edited. It is only sent to the first round of editors...and that doesn't include many people. I highly, highly doubt that your bookstore would get a galley proof.

Also, no offense, but saying that ARC, uncorrected proof and galley proof are interchangeable terms is madness. If there was no difference between them, then there would be no reason for ANY publication company to release all three versions. The reason they do is because there IS a difference, and they are all involved with the process of getting the final version of a book out---the final version which is NOT an ARC.

If you don't mind, can you attach a picture of your Haunted galley proof? I'm really interested in seeing it. You say it's bound? It actually says galley proof on the front? I've never heard of something like this after years of collecting, so I guess I'm either out of the loop or something is awry. Maybe a bit of both, but I'm definitely interested in seeing a picture of it.

So, you're telling me that the editors, after they are done with the galley proofs, sell them off or give them away?

Also, no offense, but saying that ARC, uncorrected proof and galley proof are interchangeable terms is madness.

If you don't mind, can you attach a picture of your Haunted galley proof? I'm really interested in seeing it. You say it's bound? It actually says galley proof on the front?

first off, the editor does not sell/give away their copies. the galleys are sent out by the publishing house's publicity department.

and i'm not saying that all these types of publications are the same, but that the publishing houses use these terms without alot of rhyme or reason (as in, it often appears that each publishing house makes up its own rules for what it calls an advanced reading copy, a galley, a proof etc.)

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